CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed legislation Monday which would make it a crime to possess fentanyl and expose a first responder to the material.
HB 2184 was introduced as a measure to offer added protection and support to West Virginia EMT’s, police officers, fire fighters and others who deal with overdose victims and other drug users each day.
“Milligram for milligram, fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine. We’re very familiar with it working in the ICU as nurses. It takes just a miniscule amount on your skin to absorb transdermally to cause respiratory depression,” said Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas.
Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell, one of the bill’s lead sponsors, added layer of protection to first responders who have to deal with fentanyl almost every shift. Those encounters are often dangerous and have dire consequences for EMS personnel.
“This is a bill to try to help our first responders, the ladies and gentlemen who go out and work on behalf of each and every one of us. They often put themselves in bad situations and they do it for us,” he explained on the House Floor.
The bill passed on a vote of 94-2, the two dissenters were Del. Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha.
“We are stacking penalties so that maybe some of us can say we are tough on crime. Well being tough on crime means getting to the root of the problem and not incarcerating so many West Virginia citizens,” Fleischauer told colleagues.
Pushkin claimed the bill might have noble intentions, but believed it would do nothing to truly address the problem.
The bill now heads to the state Senate.